First B-52’s Album In Sixteen Years: “Loud, Sexy Rock & Roll Pumped Up to Hot Pink”

The B-52’s are going from the “Love Shack” to the Funplex. The long-running Athens, Georgia foursome (which does indeed include Cindy Wilson once again) gave Rock Daily the lowdown on their first album of fresh material since 1992’s Good Stuff, which is coming out in February. “We thought, we’re gonna keep [touring], we’re gonna need some new songs for the show, we need to put a new album out there,” explains guitarist Keith Strickland. During a trip to Maui in 2003, he says, “This idea for the sound of the new album just popped into my head, and I felt that the sound and direction of the music would be right for us, so for the first time in years, I felt inspired enough to begin writing music for a new B-52’s album.”

Strickland’s inspiration was fueled by the heavy dose of New Order’s Get Ready he was listening to, an influence that led him to hire that album’s producer, Steve Osborne. Strickland also found muses from Hamburg-era Beatles tracks and technology itself. “I began writing music at the same time as I was getting a learning curve on how to use ProTools.” Adds singer Kate Pierson, “I remember when they used to splice tape together with a razor blade. That seems so antique now, but we still kept it organic.”

Fans of the band’s music might be surprised by the leap in technology. While the quirkiness and humor still shine through, the arrangements on the eleven-song album are more focused and atmospheric. If songs like “Rock Lobster” had you dancing, then “Pump,” the album’s potential first single, will have you raving. “We’re more conscious of song structure, instead of fitting everything into a collage,” Pierson says, “This album, the songs build and build and by the end, it’s totally different, this course is hammering along and you’re dancing.”

The band still stays true their roots, interspersing futuristic references with sexual and political lyrics in tracks like “Love In The Year 3000” and “Deviant Ingredient.” Pierson’s favorite, “Juliet Of The Spirits,” about the title character of the Frederico Fellini film of the same name, employs an upbeat vibe while conjuring up the tone of the director’s in-house composer, Nino Rota. The band has already played six of the new songs in concert, and they’re eager to try them out again during their Halloween show at New York’s Roseland Ballroom (they’ll be outfitted in their regular show garb) and at Los Angeles’ Roxy on November 16th. So far, they’ve been pleased by the positive audience reaction to the tracks. As Strickland explains, “It’s loud, sexy rock & roll with the beat pumped up to hot pink.” Funplex will be released on Astralwerks February 26th, 2008.

---

Like a time capsule, the B-52s' first album in 16 years reanimates that familiar fusion of danceable post-punk and bizarrely conceived songs of the oldest new wave. After sitting out 1992’s Good Stuff, Cindy Wilson returns to the love shack, joining fellow bee-hiver Kate Pierson on mouth-watering vocals and harmonies circa Wild Planet. Colossal hooks jostle relentless rhythms, oddball lyrics, and the outrageous voice of Fred Schneider, who struts like a peacock through this infectious 11-track mix of frolic and frivolity. The songs are inspired by Fellini movies ("Juliet of the Spirits"), Athens, Georgia lore ("Hot Corner"), and the shopping mall ("Funplex"), and thanks to the band’s melody creator, Keith Strickland, they shimmy, shake, and house-quake all night long. Out of the blue and virtually as fun as a party out of bounds, [title]Funplex[/title] is a dee-lightful reunion record.

1. Pump
2. Hot Corner
3. Ultraviolet
4. Juliet Of The Spirits
5. Funplex
6. Eyes Wide Open
7. Love In The Year 3000
8. Deviant Ingredient
9. Too Much To Think About
10. Dancing Now
11. Keep This Party Going

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00139B39O/?tag=imwan-20

The B-52s on Astralwerks? That seems like a strange marriage, even with Strickland's namecheck of New Order...

Can't wait, it's been too long.

i thought the last 2 full-lenght outtings were quite poor...
too cliche, too bubble-gum, too commercial.
i'm a big fan of their "in-between" cd...
namely, "bouncing off the satellites".
i can only hope the new cd measures up.[/b]

Bump ~ added cover art and tracklisting to the first post, and the domestic release date has been changed to March 25th.

I saw them at the Roxy in Los Angeles a couple of months ago.
The new songs sounded like they could have come out around the time of Cosmic Thing. They sounded great live, so I'm looking forward to this one.
Here are some pix I took at that show
http://www.flickr.com/photos/godscomic/ ... 79/detail/

Good heavens, please let this be good. The world could use a good B-52s album right about now.

Cover looks good. Track names not so much...

Cover and tracks look great! Can't wait, it's been too long!

Man, I couldn't agree with you more than your statement. I am lookking VERY forward to this.
May Ricky Wilson be proud of his band!

Rick A.

This just in - Kate Pierson is still smokin'!

What? No February 26 release? But that would have been my birthday.

You can hear the title track on MySpace
http://www.myspace.com/theb52s

Here's the MP3 single download:



http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0013GROBS/?tag=imwan-20

They're playing here at the end of March.

I should probably go.
Saw them just after Wild Planet came out (1980 maybe?) and it still ranks as one of the top 5 shows I've ever seen.

They put on a great show...I'm digging the new single...

D.

Just checked Ticketmaster.....too late, the show is sold out

In anticipation of the album's release, a digital-only remix EP has been released:



1. Funplex 4:10
2. Funplex (CSS Extended Remix) 5:05
3. Funplex (Peaches Pleasure Seeker Remix) 4:44
4. Funplex (Scissor Sisters Witches At The Wet Seal Mix) 8:31

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0014STK1M/?tag=imwan-20

This is a GREAT album!!!

It certainly isn't "Cosmic Thing" but how could it be? I would catagorize it with "Bouncing Off Satellites" in that the music and playing is very, very strong while it doesn't have the great pop singles like a Quiche Lorraine, Strobe Light, Love Shack or Roam. That's not necessarily a bad thing though. It just isn't as commercial as some of the other things the B's have done.

If you would have told me a year ago that they could still put something out this contemporary and of this quality, I never would have believed it.

I saw this on vinyl this last weekend and couldn't resist. I would have resisted but there was a sticker on the outside package proclaiming the inclusion of the CD of the album in addition to mp3's inside. The full length CD was in there with the vinyl, but I see nothing about mp3's -- no links to any website, no code for download or anything.

Is my copy missing something or are all missing this? I don't even know what the mp3's might be -- I was hoping something exclusive, or maybe the live tracks that are available on itunes.

Anyone?

"Funplex" and "Hot Corner" are both great!